Easton Corbin's dream comes true with ACM nominations

Corbin received nods for Top New Solo Vocalist plus Single and Song of the Year for his debut number one hit, A Little More Country Than That. He has received a total of 13 nominations from various award shows.

"The Academy of Country Music Awards are iconic because they are such an institution," Easton said. "I've watched the ACMs since I was a kid. It's such an honor to be part of that. The nominations are confirmation from the people that you work with, and also the fans, because the new artist category is fan-voted."

"This is a dream come true," he said. "This is something I've wanted all my life. To be able to do this for a living and have people like it, I couldn't ask for any better. I am so blessed."

"I always like to thank everybody and God for giving me this opportunity, and for everybody accepting my music. I've had a lot of great people that I've worked with who gave me a chance. Without that chance, I wouldn't be here. And of course I'd like to thank the fans."

While the Top New Solo Vocalist nominations was previously announced, he learned about the other two nominations this morning while driving to Music Row to listen to songs for his second album, which is expected later this year.

"I would say for any artist, being nominated for anything is an honor, but especially being a new artist with a total of 13, and especially these 3, what else can you ask for?" he said. "As they say, just being nominated is an honor, whether you win anything or not."

"'At this point in my career, A Little More Country Than That has been a career song for me," he said of the hit written by Rory Feek, Don Poythress and Wynn Varble. "I feel like it's something I will always be recognized for because it did so well."

"It's how I grew up and the way of life I lived," says Easton, who grew up in rural Gilchrist County, Florida, where he was a member of the FFA and 4-H and showed cattle at the local livestock fair. "Since that song did so well for me, it's definitely a defining song for my career. Even though my career hasn't been that long, it is a career."

I Can't Love You Back is his current single. Easton, who toured in 2010 with Brad Paisley, will join tours of Blake Shelton and Rascal Flatts throughout 2011.